spring ephemeral
Brief forest bloomer
A spring ephemeral is a woodland plant that completes its entire above-ground life cycle in early spring before the forest canopy leafs out.
These wildflowers—trilliums, bloodroot, trout lilies—emerge, bloom, and set seed in a few weeks, then die back to underground roots or bulbs for the rest of the year.
The term also applies to certain insects with similarly brief spring appearances.
- trilliumThree-leaved woodland perennial
- bloodrootSap-staining native wildflower
- mayappleNorth American woodland herb
- snowdropLate-winter flowering bulb
- crocusSmall spring bulb flower
woodland · native wildflower · hepatica · transitory · fading fast · rhizomatous growth · deciduous forests · early bloomer · vernal · melting snow · native flora · temperate forests · leaf litter · violet · wildflowers · vanishing · dappled · April
spring ephemeralperennial
Recurring each year
evergreen · persistent · shrub · tree · groundcover
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